As opposed to the Miss Read fair last year, where if you were at KW that weekend, you were there for the books, the book fair this year acts as more of a supplement to the larger abc. Miss Read's integration into abc is most likely advantageous to the publishers as they get more traffic from the art fair attendees. Maybe you were too exhausted to have a close look at the books on display after visiting abc, which is understandable, but it is definitely worth a return trip, especially because tomorrow, Sunday, there is a program of talks.

In the near future I will be writing an article about the artist book publishers based in Berlin, so this selection of books below highlight my favorites from the fair that come from elsewhere. So it is a bit more urgent to get yourself back to Station Berlin to see them for yourself and talk to the lovely publishers since they won't be in Berlin for long.

One of my favorite tables by a single artist is that of London-based Sara MacKillop, whose work Catalogue I wrote about in last month's Picture Book Book Hook. Ex Library (2012), MacKillop's most recent project, will come out within the next few weeks. The term "ex library" is used to describe a book that was once in a library's collection and is usually considered undesirable due to their stamps, taping, and wear. MacKillop has iscolated theses traces of previous use to create a new book, a homage to the analogue library system.

This book by Richard Kostelenetz (and Bartelby & co books in Brussels) is definitely one of the most special books at the fair in terms of both design and content. The folios unfold beautifully, and the quality is exquisite. Hence the name, Thrice, the book contains three versions of Melville's Bartleby: a reprint of the first edition published by Melville, a rewriting of the story into modern times, and a technical restoration of the original text.

This publication from Antwerp, Gagarin, contains a selection of international artists' writings created especially for the publication upon invitation by the editor. Artists' writings can be really great, sometimes more interesting than the art, so I am happy to see something that focuses on the writing of contemporary artists.

My last pick comes from Ugly Duckling Presse in New York. Maybe you were never especially fond of mathematics, but Guillevic's clever and funny poems in Geometries (2010), translated by Richard Sieburth, bring simple geometric forms and elements to life and will make you change your mind.

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